Texas Tech received a blow over the weekend when backup inside receiver Aaron Fisher suffered a broken leg that will keep him out for the entire 2012 season, Tech coach Tommy Tuberville said at his weekly press conference Tuesday.

Fisher, a 6-foot-2, 188-pound junior, caught five passes for 62 yards last season and wasn’t in the two-deep. Tuberville, however, called him the team’s “No. 1 special teams guy.”

Tuberville said the injury was non-contact. Fisher suffered the broken leg when he planted his foot in the turf while running.

Fisher will undergo surgery on Wednesday, Tuberville said.

“We hate that,” the coach said.

Tech had another injury scare over the weekend when backup center/offensive guard Tony Morales collapsed to the turf with a knee injury, one the staff initially believed to be serious.

“We thought he had blown his knee all the way out,” Tuberville said.

Fortunately for the Red Raiders, Morales had suffered only a strain to the medial collateral ligament in the knee, which will keep him out for two weeks.

It was good news for a team that can’t afford to lose more bodies on the offensive line after losing tackle Matt Wilson (ACL) and guard Brian Thomas (left the team) during fall camp.

“One area we really don’t need to lose people is offensive line,” Tuberville said. “We really can’t afford that. Any other place we might have a chance, but that’s not one.”

Tuberville likesFoster

The quality of Texas Tech’s options at running back might have been illustrated Monday when Tech coach Tommy Tuberville called SaDale Foster his favorite — and Foster is listed third on the depth chart behind Eric Stephens and Kenny Williams.

“Going on what I’ve seen in spring and the scrimmages, I’m a SaDale Foster guy,” Tuberville said. “I like him. It’s not that I don’t like the other guys. I think Kenny right now is probably the best.

“But what SaDale has done in terms of scrimmages and catching the ball and making people miss in open field and now he’s going to be on a lot of special teams, I like SaDale.

“He’s been one of my favorites since I saw him last spring running around. He kind of fits what we do on offense. He’s a tough little guy that’s built like a fireplug.”

Tuberville’s comments were prompted by a questioner who asked if the team’s best back was Williams, given that Stephens and DeAndre Washington are coming back from major knee surgeries.

Tuberville said Williams has the bigger upside because of his size and ability to run over or around tacklers.

The 5-foot-7, 187-pound Foster hasn’t played running back since high school. He spent the last two years at Riverside (Calif.) City College as a receiver and return man.

“What impressed me most was his returning of kickoffs and his vision,” Tuberville said. “Sometimes nobody ever touched him. He’d see people coming that most people wouldn’t see. I think that’s his biggest asset is being able to see the field and being able to run away from tacklers that a lot of people can’t see coming.”

Last season, Foster returned 24 punts for a 13.4-yard average and returned 22 kickoffs for a 28.5-yard average. He caught 56 passes for 750 yards and 12 touchdowns.

There should be some carries to go around in Saturday’s season opener against Northwestern State. Tuberville said Stephens’ knee is fully healthy, but if he gets 10 or 12 carries that will be a lot.

En route

Perhaps one of the most surprising players of Texas Tech’s fall camp was Jordan Davis, a third-year sophomore walk-on whose consistency was on full display throughout August.

Davis’ effort earned him a spot on the two-deep lineup at inside receiver heading into the Red Raiders opening game against Northwestern State at 6 p.m. Saturday.

Tech quarterback Seth Doege said Tuesday the thing that has impressed him most about the 5-foot-10, 174-pound Davis is his his route-running ability.

“He’s so shifty,” Doege said, “and he sets up the defenders different every time he runs the route that helps him out to get separation, because he’s not a big guy. So the way he sets his routes up helps him out.”

Davis, who is slotted behind senior Alex Torres at the “H” inside receiver spot, has also gained the trust of his quarterback by rarely letting balls slip through his fingers.

“He can catch the ball,” Doege said. “He’s not going to MA, which is a missed assignment. He’s going to do everything the right way on the field and off the field.

“He’s a good dude. I’m excited that he’s put himself in a position to play.”

Davis redshirted last season after transferring from Southwestern Oklahoma State, where he caught 20 passes for 225 yards in 2010.

For continuity’s sake

Quarterback Seth Doege said it wasn’t a setback in preparation that two of his four starting receivers — Eric Ward and Alex Torres — went through spring and preseason practice on a non-contact basis. Ward suffered a shoulder injury on the first day of spring ball that sidelined him the rest of the way, and was one of three players with concussion histories that were non-contact in August.

Torres is coming back from knee surgery.

“Even though they might have worn a non-contact jersey, they were still getting pressed (in coverage),” Doege said. “Non-contact only meant they weren’t getting tackled to the ground. Eric Ward has been doing a really good job getting off press and stuff like that, so the continuity’s there.

“There wasn’t anything bad about them not being able to be live during scrimmages or practice.”

Ward led the team with 84 catches, 800 yards and 11 touchdowns last year. Torres had 51 catches for 616 yards — second on team in both categories — with four touchdowns.

Isaac disruption

Hurricane Isaac, which made landfall in Louisiana on Tuesday night, has forced Northwestern State to alter its travel plans ahead of Saturday’s game against Texas Tech in Lubbock.

The school’s football and volleyball teams (the latter of which is also playing at Tech this weekend), will begin traveling by bus toward Texas on Wednesday, the school announced, one day ahead of schedule.

The teams plan to stay Wednesday night in Fort Worth before finishing the trip to Lubbock on Thursday.